Monday, September 9, 2019

3. Due Sept 11

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1) Based on your intuition (don't do research), what are the differences between a LANGUAGE and a DIALECT?
Some possible categories are: Pronunciation (phonetics), different words for the same objects (lexicon), different organization of words in a sentence (grammar, syntax).
 
REPLY: find a definition you think is as effective as yours and add your comment.
 
 
2) SEPARATE PARAGRAPH.
 
Of the three works mentioned in the lecture for today, which one attracts you the least.
Can you explain why?

Does your choice have to do with aspects of your personality? Or with our time and age? (Don't answer "both." Of course it is both, but which one is more relevant.)
 
REPLY. Wait until at least 10 comments have been posted.
Reply to a particularly intriguing comment that made you think.
 

17 comments:

  1. To the best of my knowledge, “language” can be defined as a form of communication that is widely used across nations and goes hand-in-hand with culture. It is usually spoken, written, recorded, and taught both in the origin nation, so to speak, and abroad. A “dialect” is also a form of communication, but the same large numbers of a “language” don’t use it, and it is primarily oral. Speakers of “dialects” have written literature -- recordings of music exist too -- but they are scarce. Those who speak “dialects” belong to rural, isolated communities or indigenous tribes, and this is namely due to histories of colonialism, racism, and extermination projects. “Dialects” are also an essential aspect of cultures, but are not considered to be on the same level as “modern languages.” They lack complex syntax, punctuation rules, and its speakers receive a lack of recognition for having diction. All “languages” were “dialects” at one point, but not all “dialects” evolve into “languages.” The term “dialect” has negative connotations; ignorance motivates some to consider those who speak “dialects” as not civilized. Society regards language as a more “sophisticated” form of communication.

    Francesco Petrarch’s Canzoniere isn’t as appealing to me as the other works solely because it is a collection of poems. Honestly, I never really liked reading poems due to the extra effort required in understanding what the author is transmitting. This difficulty increases when analyzing old poems and multiple translations exist, which makes the task of understanding even more difficult. Things can get lost in translation; interpretations vary depending on the translator’s background. A modern reader has to do more work to weave together the evolution of a word or phrase to try to get the gist. It’s not that I can’t enjoy a good poem. I don’t like the process of deconstructing since it is more often than not more strenuous than with a novella or any other story.

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    1. I agree that poem can be hard to decipher. Dante and Boccaccio really delve into a story with a plot than just sonnets about feelings that even when they were writing was hard to explain.

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    2. I agree with your definitions of a language and dialects. As a person who speaks a dialect, I do disagree with your statement that dialects are mostly spoken in rural areas. Large areas of a certain country may speak a dialect not only rural areas. Otherwise I do agree with you.

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  2. I believe that the difference between language and dialect has a lot to do with pronunciation and the way in which the words are ordered. I know this because I have heard some people who speak different languages tell me that they can still understand different dialects but cannot speak it. This tells me how there is definitely some connection between the two. A definition that I found to be as effective as mine was written by Alexander. He said, "A dialect is a form of communication that is widely used across nations and goes hand in hand with culture." I agree with this statement because it seems like a language has certain dialects depending on that areas specific culture and what fits them best.
    I definitely agree with Alexander when it comes to a collection of poems being the least appealing. It has always been hard for me to understand poems and to imagine reading poems from another time period seems especially hard for me. Poems can be understood in many different ways and personally I like literature that is more straight forward and doesn't take as much analyzing. I think my choice has to do with aspects of time because we are not introduced to many poems and not taught as much on how to understand and get through them. I think it takes knowledge and practice in order to do this. I agree with Alexander about how other stories are a lot easier to get though which I believe has to do with how we a taught to read at this time.

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  3. I think that the differences between language and dialect is that dialect is the specific language humans speak and language is used as a universal term for human communication.
    I found that poems were the least attracting to me because I always found that poems are hard to understand and different people interpret the poem differently. I think my choice has to do with aspects of my personality because I was never into read like other people so I find reading between the lines in order to understand what the author might be saying difficult for me.

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  4. Hi Class,

    Language is a common system of spoken communication within a in a country. I believe that dialect arise from people who live in the same country but are separated geographically or socially. Grammar, use of words or even spelling as well as accent all define dialect differences.

    URBAN DICTIONARY: (I enjoy the layman explanations)

    Dialect
    /ˈdɑɪ.ə.ˌlɛkt/
    noun

    1. A dialect is a particular form or derivative of a language that can vary greatly from the main language so as to be mutually unintelligible. The line between dialect and language is plastic depending on the political status of the dialect's speakers (see Cantonese). If you aren't sure, here's a good rule of thumb: A language is a dialect with an army and navy.

    Out of all the works, the poetry may be the item that I find the least appealing. This is because of how they are written. Yet, I love a challenge.

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    1. Yeah, I also think dialect is different between social classes. i.e. Some people who use stronger vocabulary tend to hold a higher position in society while slang/broken English is deemed as poor man's speech.

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  5. A language is generally the most acceptable way of speech consisting of prescriptive grammar used in schools and legal documents. While, a dialect is less conventional often considered fluid syntactically and grammatically with no rules. Dialects are also commonly perceived as degrading causing the fall of dialects in several communities.
    In the three works mentioned in the lecture for today, the piece of literature that attracted me the least is "canzoniere" by Petrach because it consists of the overall idea of finding happiness through a character. The theme isn't as captivating in comparison to "The Divine" by Dante which explores the after-life and feeds into my curiosity arising from speculatory claims of what occurs after one's demise beyond the physical or the decomposition of the body.

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  6. Language is, in my opinion best defined as a way certain cultures communicate with each other. dialect is the way the languages are pronounced.

    I like poetry as it is short and relatively easy to digest. When in school I read a lot of books, and started with tons of poems to really digest them and break them down.

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  7. Language is how people communicate and express their culture with others. A dialect has a different culture and pronunciation based off the original language.

    I prefer to read Francesco Petrarch’s Canzoniere because poetry is concise and short.

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  8. The difference between language and dialect in my opinion is that language is a form of communication everyone uses to speak and dialect can be a certain pronunciation or specific words only used by certain part of the world.

    The reading that appealed me the least was probably the poetry because it is always the hardest to understand and dissect.Especially reading old poems are very hard to understand because they use different language and words then we do today. My choice with not liking poetry probably has to do with time because of the wording and the themes maybe I would like modern poetry more but even then the vocabulary is always confusing because authors will try to find words that rhyme but sometimes the sentences would not make sense.

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  9. Language is generally a group of patterns used to communicate within a culture. Dialect is a way of speaking, in terms of accents, slang and diction. Someone's dialect from Georgia may be different than one from California.

    I agree with Alexander and Marissa that Francesco Petrarch’s Il Canzoniere is the least interesting. From the research I gathered, the book of sonnets seems to be about a man discovering and understanding feelings he was once confused about. I am a very unemotional person so it doesn't gauge my interest much. The Clouds by Aristophanes is one of my favorite Greek comedies so The Decameron and Divine Comedy appeal to me more.

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  10. In general, language seem to include both a system of consistent grammar for writing and reading, while a dialect can varies from region to region and typically did not have a writing system.
    From my research, the Canzoniere and the Divine Comedy are both similar in that they both explore religious values and love through poems. The Canzioniere don't really appeal to me since it focus more on talking about his idealized love. The Divine Comedy appeal more to me since it is an epic poem.

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  11. What i know language to be is the spoken tongue of a group of people usually in a geographic region. Many people learn several languages. What I think a dialect is a sub group of languages spoken by the peoples in the same geographic regions but their language differs from others in the same geographic region, which is what creates a dialect.
    I enjoyed the poetry of Francesco Petrarch’s because i found it intriguing. However it was rather difficult since it took me a couple re-reads before i got what i believe to be the true meaning that was trying to be conveyed. Still the complexity didn't take away from it as much as it gave to exploring it even deeper due to the re-reading of it.

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    1. I agree with you stating that it took a few re-reads to finally understand the complete meaning of Francesco's poetry. I feel like if it were written in a modern language "format" it would be more comprehensible.

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  12. “Language” is a broader definition of how the society communicates. It distinguishes the community speaking that particular language from the rest of the world. A “dialect” on the other hand is a sub category of a language that further defines that community according to culture, history, or region of that community. Many countries have a common language but different dialects associated to it depending on the geographical location of that region in the country. For example, Chinese is one of the famous language with two known dialects spoken across China.

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  13. In my opinion, the word "language" is used as the main communication in a country. It is taught in schools so that anyone can speak to each other. It is also taught so that there is a unified way of communication instead of multiple languages. "Dialects" on the other hand are based on the main language spoken in a country. They can vary in definitions of words, pronunciation, grammar and much more. The dialect was used by people who could or would not speak the formal language Dialects would be used to communicate in secret due to the fact that they can be completely different than the main language. In the past only wealthier/educated people would know the unified language. Commoners or peasants would communicate with the dialect of their town or province. Most of the time, towns and provinces no matter how close to each other would still have different dialects further separating the people. Like discussed in class there were many barriers between people, the dialect is one of them.
    In my opinion the poems were the least appealing to me. I sometimes enjoy poetry but it depends on the topic. Poetry can be generally hard to read, and in this case it was. I had to re-read the poetry a few times before grasping the complete concept. It is much easier and less stressful to read something once than read something several times to decipher it. If the theme was interesting to me, it would have been an easier read.

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